Nepal’s envoy to India quits, to contest elections

File photo of Nepal’s ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, who resigned from his post on October 6, 2017. (HT Photo)

Nepal’s ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, resigned from his post on Friday against the backdrop of reports that he plans to contest upcoming elections.

Upadhyay submitted his resignation to the deputy prime minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, at the foreign ministry and stated his desire to “return to social life”.

A former minister in the Nepali Congress government, he plans to contest the parliamentary elections from his home district of Kapilvastu later this year.

He served twice as Nepal’s envoy to India. His first diplomatic assignment took him to New Delhi from April 2015 to May 2016. He was recalled by the government headed by former premier KP Sharma Oli in May last year after he was accused of being involved in efforts to topple the regime in Kathmandu.

In October 2016, he was again appointed the ambassador to India by the government led by former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”.

Once the Cabinet approves his resignation, Upadhyay is expected to announce his candidacy for the elections. Before leaving New Delhi for Kathmandu, he held a brief meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to inform her about his departure.

Upadhyay served in New Delhi at a difficult time in bilateral relations, including the five-month economic blockade along the border in Nepal’s southern plains during protests against the country’s new Constitution.

A new envoy is expected to be appointed as soon as Upadhyay’s resignation is approved.